Will the mob lynching stop after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’shard stance against cow vigilantism? It is a billion dollar question whether invoking the Mahatma at his Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat by the Prime Minister will put an end to the insanity being perpetrated in the name of cow across the country.
Only a few hours before the Prime Minister denounced cow vigilantes in his home state of Gujarat, a man was lynched at Ramgarhin the BJP-ruled state of Jharkhandby an enraged mob. They suspected him of carrying beef in his vehicle. Although this incident happened before Modi’s speech at the Sabarmati Ashram, there are indicationsthat support the thesis that mob lynching is not going to stop in the near future. 
Just after his speech came the Hindu Mahasabha’sreaction that blamed the Prime Minister too for the current situation in the country. The organisatondeclared that gaurakshak(cow protectors) would “keep doing their good job” - obviously cocking a snook at the Prime Minister.Now the question arises: Has the Modi’s warning fell on deaf earsonce again?
Modi said at the Sabarmati Ashram, “Killing people in the name of gau bhakti(cow worshiping) is not acceptable. This is not something Mahatma Gandhi would approve.” He added that one must learn about cow protection from Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave.

Although Modi invoked the Mahatma and Vinoba Bhave, it is no secret that people indulging in mob lynching don’t give a damnab out Mahatma or BinovaBhave’s values and principles. If one just follows Facebook or Whatsapp posts of the “digital savvy”cow vigilantes, it will be abundantly clear that Mahatma is blamed for the “present ills plaguing the country”– “allowing Muslimto remain in India after the Partition”being on the top of their list. 
There havebeen sustained campaigns to belittle the Mahatma and his values on communal and caste lines. The principal of non-violence of the Mahatma is characterisedas cowardice: “Majboorikanaam Mahatma Gandhi” is a common refrain prevalentamong the youths, thanks to these disparaging campaigns. 
The RSS and its affiliates never care a damn about the Father of Nation. For the lynching mob, the Mahatma and his values are anathemas. A disillusioned, cynical and hysterical mob that is ideologically indoctrinated of late will not listen tothe voices of sanity. Under such scenario, invoking Mahatma Gandhi will make no impacts on so-called cow protectors. But for ruling dispensation, it is a majbooritoinvoke the Mahatma every now and then since it gives some sorts of legitimacy to it.
It would be worthwhile here to remember what impact Modi’serstwhile warnings have had on cow vigilantes. In the wake of national outrage after flogging of Dalits at Una in Gujarat, Modihad said in August lastyear that cow vigilantes are criminals: “They indulge in criminal activities at night and masquerade as cow protectors during the day.”He had even asked the states to prepare a dossier of such criminals as “80 per cent of them are involved in illegal activities”.
Despite the harsh words of the Prime Minister, there has been no let-up in the grotesque crimes of the cow vigilantes. Neither did the so called cow protectors heed the Prime Minister’s warnings nor did the state governments try to keep them in check. 
In fact, after the Prime Minister’s tough talk, the country saw a spurt in the incidents of mob lynching especially in the BJP-ruled states. From the lynching of 60-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh in September 2015 to killing of dairy farmer 55-year-old Pehlu Khan at Alwar in Rajasthan in April this year to killing of 16-year-old Junaid in a train at Ballabhgarh in Haryana only a few days back, lynchings by cow vigilantes hogged the headlines.
As per the data released by IndiaSpendcovering incidents related to cow vigilantism till June 25, 2017, 28 people were killed in 63 incidents related to cow vigilantism during the period from 2010 to 2017, of which 86 per cent belonged to minority community. With about half the cow-related violence reported from BJP-ruled sates, 97 percent of these attacks occurred after the Modigovernment came into power at the Centre. 
It’s obvious to conclude now that mere the harsh words will not work;tough actionsare needed. However, if the mob is ideologically indoctrinated, even stringent actions will fail to yield desired results. It will require an ideological battle to be waged against the divisive elementsthat are making all out efforts to destroy the multi-lingual, multi-culturaland multi-religious identity of India and replace it with asubversive majoritarian ethos - devoid of diversity that we boast of today. 
(The writer is executive editor, Live India TV)